Job summary
This vacancy is for a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist for Ashworth High Secure Hospital (HSS) which is one of the 3 high secure hospitals in the country.
You will be part of a comprehensive MDT with good trainee medical support. You will manage a caseload of 20 +/- 2 male inpatients within the Personality Disorder service and be involved in managing referrals and completing assessments. You will maintain responsibility for the patient throughout his journey through the hospital and will lead the multidisciplinary team.
Main duties of the job
You will act as Responsible Clinician within a multidisciplinary team. You will take part in assessments of new referrals, pre-admission planning, management of inpatients and discharge planning.
You will be required to undertake assessments of individuals referred for admission from a variety of sources including Medium secure units, Low Secure Units, general adult or old age mental health services, Courts or Prisons. Liaison with other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, police, probation, social care and other mental health services.
You will exercise statutory responsibilities as a Responsible Clinician within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Amended 2007) for patients detained under Restriction Orders, including completing statutory reports to the Ministry of Justice. For both non-restricted and restricted patients under your care you will be responsible for providing reports regarding Consent to Treatment and providing reports to, and attending, Tribunals and Managers' Reviews.
You will be expected to be approved under Section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 for the purposes of recommending admission to hospital and be an Approved Clinician.
About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
Responsible for leading a multidisciplinary team in the care and treatment of a full caseload 20 +/-2 inpatients. The actual number of inpatients and their location will be subject to agreement between the Appointee and Clinical Director and will be clearly identified in the job plan. The multi-disciplinary team will usually comprise of the consultant, a trainee doctor, clinical psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist and nursing staff. There is also access to a senior pharmacist.
Referrals for Admission
You will be expected to visit other hospitals and prisons for the purposes of assessing new referrals and their suitability for admission to high security.
Ashworth Hospital receives approximately 70 referrals for admission annually. The appointee will be allocated referrals on an equitable rotational basis.
Referrals for admission to the hospital are always assessed by one of the hospital consultants. The authority for admission to a high secure hospital has been devolved to a local admissions panel which is chaired by a senior psychiatrist with a multidisciplinary membership. You will be expected to liaise with this group regarding his/her recommendations for admission.
Transfer or Discharge of Patients
You will be expected to make recommendations on behalf of his/her clinical team regarding the suitability of patients for transfer or discharge from and within the Hospital.
Management
You will be expected to participate in the management of the wards where his/her patients are based and attend patient care team meetings and other ward-related meetings as appropriate.
Please see job description for further details.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
Responsible for leading a multidisciplinary team in the care and treatment of a full caseload 20 +/-2 inpatients. The actual number of inpatients and their location will be subject to agreement between the Appointee and Clinical Director and will be clearly identified in the job plan. The multi-disciplinary team will usually comprise of the consultant, a trainee doctor, clinical psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist and nursing staff. There is also access to a senior pharmacist.
Referrals for Admission
You will be expected to visit other hospitals and prisons for the purposes of assessing new referrals and their suitability for admission to high security.
Ashworth Hospital receives approximately 70 referrals for admission annually. The appointee will be allocated referrals on an equitable rotational basis.
Referrals for admission to the hospital are always assessed by one of the hospital consultants. The authority for admission to a high secure hospital has been devolved to a local admissions panel which is chaired by a senior psychiatrist with a multidisciplinary membership. You will be expected to liaise with this group regarding his/her recommendations for admission.
Transfer or Discharge of Patients
You will be expected to make recommendations on behalf of his/her clinical team regarding the suitability of patients for transfer or discharge from and within the Hospital.
Management
You will be expected to participate in the management of the wards where his/her patients are based and attend patient care team meetings and other ward-related meetings as appropriate.
Please see job description for further details.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MB BS or equivalent medical qualification
Desirable
- Qualification or higher degree in medical education
Transport
Essential
- Ability to fulfil travel requirements of the post
Desirable
Eligibility
Essential
- Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment
- Included on the GMC Specialist Register for Forensic Psychiatry, OR within six months
- Approved Clinician status OR able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
- Approved under S12 OR able to achieve with 3 months of appointment
Desirable
- In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice
Clinical Skills Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Excellent knowledge in specialty
- Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
- Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty
- Makes decisions based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others
- Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA
Desirable
- An endorsement in Forensic Psychiatry is preferred but not essential.
Academic Skills & Lifelong Learning
Essential
- Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training
- Participated in continuous professional development
- Participated in research or service evaluation
- Able to use and appraise clinical evidence
- Has actively participated in clinical audit
Desirable
- Able to plan and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training relevant to this post
- Reflected on purpose of CPD undertaken
- Experienced in clinical research and/or service evaluation.
- Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.
- Has led clinical audits leading to service change
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MB BS or equivalent medical qualification
Desirable
- Qualification or higher degree in medical education
Transport
Essential
- Ability to fulfil travel requirements of the post
Desirable
Eligibility
Essential
- Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment
- Included on the GMC Specialist Register for Forensic Psychiatry, OR within six months
- Approved Clinician status OR able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
- Approved under S12 OR able to achieve with 3 months of appointment
Desirable
- In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice
Clinical Skills Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Excellent knowledge in specialty
- Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
- Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty
- Makes decisions based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others
- Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA
Desirable
- An endorsement in Forensic Psychiatry is preferred but not essential.
Academic Skills & Lifelong Learning
Essential
- Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training
- Participated in continuous professional development
- Participated in research or service evaluation
- Able to use and appraise clinical evidence
- Has actively participated in clinical audit
Desirable
- Able to plan and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training relevant to this post
- Reflected on purpose of CPD undertaken
- Experienced in clinical research and/or service evaluation.
- Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.
- Has led clinical audits leading to service change
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
